The invention relates to a method of comminuting frozen animal organs or frozen animal tissue, from which physiologically active substances or other valuable substances are to be extracted.
For the production of such substances from animal organs or animal tissue the factories usually receive the raw material in frozen state, e.g. in the form of frozen blocks.
Before they can be used for the extraction of the desired substance or substances such frozen raw materials have to be comminuted, a process which previously has been carried out by chopping or cutting or in any similar manner resulting in rather coarse lumps or in slices which can be compared to slices of rolled meat sausage.
As examples of such raw materials mention can be made of pancreas glands for the production of insulin, which are supplied to the insulin factories from the slaughter-houses in the form of frozen blocks having for instance the shape and size of a large flat loaf. These blocks are stored, until they are to be used, in cold store, e.g. at -15.degree. C.
Furthermore, mention can be made of lungs, liver, thyroid glands and intestinal mucosa, e.g. from cows, calves, sheep and pigs, from which heparin and other hromones, enzymes and other valuable substances can be extracted.
The recovery of these substances takes place in general by extraction. The necessary extraction time and the yield obtained by the extraction depend, inter alia, on the fineness and the consistency of the raw material after its comminution; the material obtained by the hitherto used comminuting methods has not given particularly satisfactory results in these respects.
In case of the preparation of insulin from pancreas glands, the frozen blocks have, prior to the extraction normally effected with acidified diluted alcohol, been comminuted by chopping or cutting. The machines most commonly used for comminution have been mincing machines or machines with a rotary shaft to which are fitted radially three or four arms provided with knives cutting up the block in slices similar to those cut from a rolled meat sausage. The chopping results in a material similar to minced meat from an ordinary industrial meat mincing machine; this material has as a consequence of the compression during the chopping a comparatively high weight in relation to its volume. By the cutting one obtains slices 2-5 mm thick and of an area of for instance 10.times.6 cm or 15.times.12 cm.
For obtaining a reasonable yield of proteins, and thereby of insulin, the total extraction of the pancreas glands comminuted as aforementioned requires a comparatively long time, being of the order of 6 hours, which partly delays the production, partly involves a loss of insulin because this, as long as it is in solution in the extraction medium, is exposed to the decomposing effect of different substances, such as fatty acids and enzymes, even though it is intended to inactivate the latter by the alcohol added.
Notwithstanding the deficiency of the extraction stage, the said cutting or chopping or methods equivalent to these have been used ever since the production of insulin had its beginning almost half a century ago.